Winter Citrus Salad

Is anyone else ready for spring? This has been one LONG winter.

I’ll admit, winter is pretty fun during the holidays when there are lights and celebrations everywhere. It’s exciting to see the temperature slowly drop and gradually wrap yourself in more an more blankets. (Confession: I keep several blankets in the car because there is no time colder than the 7:00 drive to school on a Monday morning.)

The first snow of the year is awesome, and snow days all through January are pretty much the best thing ever. Hot chocolate is on a whole new level once the temperature hits below freezing. Even the Valentines Day mania is kind of fun when you’re single because you have the perfect excuse to eat a ton of chocolate with your friends.

But it’s right about now that everyone gets a case of the winter blues. We’re all tired of the cold and really ready for spring. For these last few weeks of winter, here’s a bright little salad to cheer you up. It’s super colorful, with purplish-red dried cranberries and slices of honeybell oranges mixed in among the green. Toasted pecans add nutty flavor and some extra crunch, and the whole thing is drizzled with a tangy homemade spin on honey mustard.

I used honeybell oranges for the salad because we happen to have a giant two layer crate sitting on the floor of our kitchen. Also known as tangelos, they’re a cross between a tangerine and either a pomelo or a grapefruit. Personally I love eating them plain, but we do have a LOT at the house right now so I wanted to find a way to use up a few more. They were the perfect addition to this delicious salad 🙂

Hang in there everyone!! Mix this killer salad in with a regular rotation of hot winter soups and it’ll be spring in no time.

Winter Citrus Salad

1/4 cup of whole pecans

3 cups of baby spinach

2 honeybell oranges (any king of orange will work), sliced

1/4 cup of dried cranberries

For the dressing:

1 teaspoon of honey

1 teaspoon of dijon mustard

Zest of 1/2 lemon

2 tablespoons of olive oil

In a dry skillet over medium high heat, toast the pecans for several minutes until they’re fragrant and brown slightly.

Wash and dry the spinach, then place it at the bottom of a salad bowl. Add the orange slices, cranberries, and toasted pecans.

For the dressing, whisk together the honey, dijon mustard, and lemon zest. Drizzle in the olive oil and whisk vigorously to fully combine the ingredients. Pour the dressing evenly over the salad and toss to coat thoroughly. Enjoy!

xoxo

Deanna